one on the Internet. Whether it was real or not, someone was telling her that Mallory was alive.
“I don’t know. You’ve been in the media a lot the last few days. And Mallory’s disappearance was a high-profile case,” Mike said. “People do stupid stuff to get a rise out of someone.”
“But what if this is something?”
“First things first, I’ll call the front desk and see if I can find out who dropped this off,” Mike said. “Then we’ll go from there.”
While he picked up the phone to call the manager, Rachel stared at the age-progression photographs of Mallory. About a year after Mallory had vanished, Rachel sent family photos of herself, Rick, and Mallory to the forensic imaging specialists at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The image specialist merged all the photos in a complex program to create a photo of Mallory at age four.
Rachel updated the website every year with a new photo in hope that one day Mallory would be found. But now Rachel had an in-house specialist, Gregg Isbitt, who performed all the age-progression photos for Florida Omni Search. Gregg was an IT specialist formerly with the Atlanta Police Department and a friend of Red Cooper. She trusted him like every other member of her valuable team.
Mike hung up the phone. “No luck. The security camera isn’t working, and the front desk clerk who took the package was busy checking in a guest and doesn’t remember much about the boy who dropped off the package. He described him as a teenager wearing a baseball cap and shorts. That’s it. The boy was probably paid by someone to drop it off.”
“I still don’t get what this means. Could it be the start of some kind of ransom? Four years later?”
“If it is, then they’ll contact you again. I’d give this to Drake and have him take a look. See if he can run this through his lab.”
Rachel nodded. “I left him a message.”
Mike leaned over, gave her a hug. “I know you miss her terribly. We’ll figure this out together.”
CHAPTER 28
“G ood morning. I ordered us some breakfast,” Rachel said as she opened the door to a tired-looking Drake.
“Smells wonderful.” Drake lifted the silver dome from one of the plates, which was covered with a large scoop of steaming scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, and chunks of hashed brown potatoes with onions and peppers. “Feeling better this morning?”
“Not really. Didn’t sleep much last night. I tossed and turned.” Rachel picked up her coffee mug. “Right now I need massive amounts of caffeine.”
“I sent the envelope to the lab this morning. We should hear something soon,” Drake said.
“Great. Thanks again for coming over last night. After Mike left, I didn’t know what to do. I called the office, and Gregg said he’d take a look at the photo we scanned and e-mailed him. It’s a long shot, but he might be able to tell if it’s authentic or if someone used age-progression software. Either way, I’d like to keep this quiet for now.”
“Sure. I think it’s a diversion, but we’ll see what the lab says.” Drake poured a cup of coffee and pointed to her newspaper. “What are you reading?”
“Our friend Stacy Case did an article about Amber,” Rachel said, handing him the front page of the Miami Sun . “I got a copy from the newsstand downstairs.”
GOVERNOR’S DAUGHTER DISAPPEARS
FROM CRUISE SHIP
By Staff Reporter Stacy Case
Former Miami socialite Rachel Scott is in the Bahamas today with her search-and-rescue company, Florida Omni Search, assisting the local police force and FBI to locate Amber Knowles, daughter of Florida governor John Knowles. She was reported missing early Sunday morning from the SeaStar cruise ship when her friends and the school chaperone couldn’t find her.
Authorities believe that Ms. Knowles accidentally fell overboard. The SeaStar informed the Coast Guard after an extensive search of the ship failed to locate the teenager.
The FBI, which
“I don’t know. You’ve been in the media a lot the last few days. And Mallory’s disappearance was a high-profile case,” Mike said. “People do stupid stuff to get a rise out of someone.”
“But what if this is something?”
“First things first, I’ll call the front desk and see if I can find out who dropped this off,” Mike said. “Then we’ll go from there.”
While he picked up the phone to call the manager, Rachel stared at the age-progression photographs of Mallory. About a year after Mallory had vanished, Rachel sent family photos of herself, Rick, and Mallory to the forensic imaging specialists at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The image specialist merged all the photos in a complex program to create a photo of Mallory at age four.
Rachel updated the website every year with a new photo in hope that one day Mallory would be found. But now Rachel had an in-house specialist, Gregg Isbitt, who performed all the age-progression photos for Florida Omni Search. Gregg was an IT specialist formerly with the Atlanta Police Department and a friend of Red Cooper. She trusted him like every other member of her valuable team.
Mike hung up the phone. “No luck. The security camera isn’t working, and the front desk clerk who took the package was busy checking in a guest and doesn’t remember much about the boy who dropped off the package. He described him as a teenager wearing a baseball cap and shorts. That’s it. The boy was probably paid by someone to drop it off.”
“I still don’t get what this means. Could it be the start of some kind of ransom? Four years later?”
“If it is, then they’ll contact you again. I’d give this to Drake and have him take a look. See if he can run this through his lab.”
Rachel nodded. “I left him a message.”
Mike leaned over, gave her a hug. “I know you miss her terribly. We’ll figure this out together.”
CHAPTER 28
“G ood morning. I ordered us some breakfast,” Rachel said as she opened the door to a tired-looking Drake.
“Smells wonderful.” Drake lifted the silver dome from one of the plates, which was covered with a large scoop of steaming scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, and chunks of hashed brown potatoes with onions and peppers. “Feeling better this morning?”
“Not really. Didn’t sleep much last night. I tossed and turned.” Rachel picked up her coffee mug. “Right now I need massive amounts of caffeine.”
“I sent the envelope to the lab this morning. We should hear something soon,” Drake said.
“Great. Thanks again for coming over last night. After Mike left, I didn’t know what to do. I called the office, and Gregg said he’d take a look at the photo we scanned and e-mailed him. It’s a long shot, but he might be able to tell if it’s authentic or if someone used age-progression software. Either way, I’d like to keep this quiet for now.”
“Sure. I think it’s a diversion, but we’ll see what the lab says.” Drake poured a cup of coffee and pointed to her newspaper. “What are you reading?”
“Our friend Stacy Case did an article about Amber,” Rachel said, handing him the front page of the Miami Sun . “I got a copy from the newsstand downstairs.”
GOVERNOR’S DAUGHTER DISAPPEARS
FROM CRUISE SHIP
By Staff Reporter Stacy Case
Former Miami socialite Rachel Scott is in the Bahamas today with her search-and-rescue company, Florida Omni Search, assisting the local police force and FBI to locate Amber Knowles, daughter of Florida governor John Knowles. She was reported missing early Sunday morning from the SeaStar cruise ship when her friends and the school chaperone couldn’t find her.
Authorities believe that Ms. Knowles accidentally fell overboard. The SeaStar informed the Coast Guard after an extensive search of the ship failed to locate the teenager.
The FBI, which
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